


Riptide

by hiraeth_chan



Series: When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? *✧･ﾟ:* [2]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Drinking, F/M, Pining, The Polar Tang, Usopp-centric (One Piece), i've written down "surgeon of death" way too many times, mentions of past illness and grief, no beta we die like yasopp's paternal instincts, one sided lawbin, original island: annan, quite a bit of law even though the os is about usopp, the great captain usopp too, usopp and law bonding over whisky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-11 08:27:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28348413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiraeth_chan/pseuds/hiraeth_chan
Summary: UsoNa, mentions of ZoroBin | “…Are you jealous?” A minute flew by, slowly, as he heard her pacing somewhere on the Sunny. (The girl’s cabin, perhaps?) Then, after she had let out a loud sigh, Nami had replied, before ending the call, in a tone so suggestive it sent a shiver down his spine. “And what if I am?”
Relationships: Nami & Usopp (One Piece), Nami/Usopp (One Piece), Nico Robin/Roronoa Zoro
Series: When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? *✧･ﾟ:* [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2063790
Comments: 6
Kudos: 22





	Riptide

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Aspiring_TrashPanda](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aspiring_TrashPanda/gifts).



> I don't own One Piece. Anything you may recognize belongs to Eiichiro Oda. 
> 
> Except for the lady at the tavern, that's @aspiringtrashpanda's OC. I thought it'd be fun if she and Law found each other again, in a completely different timeline and universe, since this story is meant to be your (late) Christmas present. I hope I didn't butcher your OTP too much, dear. 💖

“ _Lady, running down to the riptide  
Taken away to the dark side  
I want to be your left hand man  
I love when you’re singing that song  
and I got a lump in my throat  
‘Cause you’re gonna sing the words wrong_”

* * *

The wall behind the headboard vibrated, as if something was thrown with force against it. Then, a deep, guttural moan cut through the air, as sharp as obsidian, reverberating through the room.  
  
With a shiver, the great Captain Usopp realized just how bad of a twist of fate he was at receiving end of.  
  
As if he didn’t already listen to two strangers _fucking_ each other brainless every single night, screaming things the marksman would have rather never heard, or imagined; _oh_ , _no_ , it seemed the pair had been now placed in the room next door, where they were having a rather animalistic go at their favourite activity.   
  
Men with more experience at sea would have likely laughed at his discomfort, pegged him a _prude_ , but what bothered Usopp wasn’t the fact there were two people, either in the submarine or at the inn, who were having sex, rather the fact he was an unwilling participant, albeit only with his sense of hearing, every time those two decided they couldn’t keep their hands off each other, which, much to his chagrin, happened an awful lot.  
  
He didn’t care about how much Clione, the Heart Pirates’ cook, claimed to be in love with his partner, or how… _ugh, tight_ they thought said partner was.  
  
Good for them, he guessed, but he really had no need to know about it.  
  
If anything, being so acquainted with two strangers’ sexual preferences felt exceedingly weird.  
  
If he had almost fainted upon realizing something quite _not_ chaste was going on between the Straw-Hats’ swordsman and archaeologist, who were his dear friends and two of the people he admired the most in the world, because just the thought was too embarrassing, now he couldn’t even sit at Law’s table in the Tang’s cafeteria without praying Clione had at least washed his hands before he prepared the food.  
  
If a hair, even from his own head, fell on his plate, then Usopp would automatically assume it came from someone’s pubes and stopped eating altogether.   
  
The sniper sighed, wistfully, a pillow pressed tightly on both his ears, as his mind stumbled upon equally challenging, if not as disturbing, thoughts.  
  
Nami had finally called.  
  
The _Den Den Mushi_ had started ringing just as the Straw-Hats’ were making their way back to their cabins after lunch to get ready to dock in Annan, a small, one-town island on the route for Wano, where they were supposed to stock up on necessities and repair the ship as they waited for a storm to pass.  
  
The snail had rumbled once, then twice in the pocket of Usopp’s overalls and he had picked it up with trembling hands, on the one hand eager to know how the others’ journey was proceeding, and on the other dreading the possibility an enemy’s voice would pipe up on the other side of the line, claiming they had captured, or worse, killed, the navigator.  
  
Now, the great Captain Usopp worried immensely about each and everyone of his missing crewmates, he cared deeply for his nakama and would have given up his life to save theirs at the drop of a hat, like the brave warrior of the sea he aspired to be, but there was no denying his heart would ache more intensely, as if tiny needles were penetrating both his atriums and ventricles and poison was pumping through the muscle, whenever the thought of a certain orange-haired girl being bloodied, battered and _defeated_ by unknown, faceless foes reared its ugly head.  
  
It was not logical, far from that, and it made absolutely no sense, but the sniper had realized, after a long phase of utter denial, that the feelings he harboured for Nami were much different than those he had for, say, Chopper or Luffy, who were two of the people he treasured the most in the whole world.  
  
In one word, he _loved_ her.   
  
Usopp didn’t know much about romance, nor had he ever experienced it first-hand, but he knew how he felt about her.  
  
He had longed for her in the two years they had been apart in a way that terrified him at first, because it had reminded him of the wistful glance Banchina would sneak at the window of their kitchen, the one that opened on the front garden, every once in a while, hoping, until she drew her very last breath, that Yasopp would appear behind the glass.  
  
(It had taken two months before the man had received his son’s letter and travelled his way back to Syrup Village to say goodbye to his late wife, but their relationship had been already _strained_ by that point, as he had known about the woman’s illness for years and never took the time to visit, so he had refused to see him. Spying on the crying man as he knelt in front of his mother’s tombstone, hands pulling at his long hair, had been their last interaction.  
  
Whilst he had never expected such an accomplished pirate to show up for his birthdays, and had long since forgiven him for not being a father to him, Usopp had drawn the line at the neglect he had shown his mother in her time of greatest need.  
  
If Yasopp was an inspiration for everything sea-related, he was also everything his son didn’t want to be as a _man_.)   
  
When he had pushed the appropriate button and her voice, albeit creaked and disconnected because of the poor signal underwater, had stumbled out of the sea-snail’s pouty lips, his heart just leapt up.  
  
The call hadn’t lasted long and the Straw-Hats, as Franky, Zoro and Robin had gathered around the _Den Den Mushi_ as soon as it emitted the first muffled ring in his pockets, had understood less than half of the things they were told, but Luffy’s voice had piped up at some point, as he asked Nami if they had any meat, and then Chopper had wanted to say hello, soon joined by Brook, Carrot and Pedro, too, so at least the most pressing question had been answered.  
  
Their missing piece was fine, as lively as usual, and they had drawn a collective breath of relief.  
  
Even the brooding and ever-serious _Surgeon of Death_ had seemed pleased at the news his allies were doing well, as he had walked past them to ask the archaeologist if she wanted to join him and his crew for some drinks downtown tonight, which Robin had then cunningly made him extent to her crewmates, too.  
  
She seemed very tense at the idea of spending time alone with him, and Usopp wondered whether it had something to do with the way Trafalgar Law stared at her constantly, too confident in his power and status to do anything to hide the invisible, lustful lines his topaz eyes would draw on her whenever she was around.  
  
Everyone had noticed, everyone had joked about it. Well, Luffy hadn’t, because he never understood this kind of joke, and neither did Chopper, who was way too innocent even though he was technically their doctor, and therefore the one who knew the most about _human reproduction_ , but everyone who had a grasp as to what two naked adults were likely to do together had joined in the fun, although no one had been as brazen as to say something directly to the surgeon.   
  
Wait… Had the man perhaps made Robin uncomfortable, somehow?  
  
Had he tried to push her boundaries?   
  
If he had, although it surprised him that the archaeologist had let him live if that was the case, the great Captain Usopp would surely produce a passionate, invigorating and outraged speech that would then prompt the swordsman to cut him into a thousand pieces, and Franky to “ _Strong Right_ ” his man parts so hard he would probably lose the ability to have his own children.  
  
… _And just you wait for the moment Sanji hears about it_ – the fantasy crumbled around him like a house of cards, the name of the blond chef leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.  
  
For starters, Trafalgar _motherfucking_ Law wasn’t that easy to injure or even subdue, as proved by the time they had spent with the former Shichibukai, and then there was the small matter that the best part of him prayed everyday for his lost crewmate’s safe return, as the bond between him and Sanji, the same one he shared with the rest of the crew, was _unbreakable_ , but then the small, green monster in his chest sometimes whispered ominous words in his ear, suggesting that the cook’s absence from the rest of their journey could, as a matter of fact, be very beneficial for Usopp.  
  
If he never came back, after all, then no one would stand between himself and the navigator.  
  
Even if he _always_ regretted the thought as soon as it materialized in his mind, the sniper hated himself for thinking such things. No, it was worse than irrational hate, it was sheer, all-encompassing self-loathing.   
  
_He was such an awful friend_ …  
  
Usopp sat the pillow aside, moans increasing tenfold in volume, shook his head and stood up.  
  
It wasn’t the time to dwell into such thoughts, as the submarine would soon dock in Annan’s main and only port.  
  
He marched to the bathroom, where he undressed briskly and balanced his clean change of clothes, a bright orange overall and a white t-shirt, on the sink.  
  
As the scorching hot water melted away the stress from his shoulders and back, and expert digits threaded the shampoo through the dark locks, the pirate mulled over the final chunk of his conversation with the navigator via _Den Den Mushi_ , and he replayed the interaction a couple of times before he gently tapped his closed fist on the shower’s tile wall – a proper punch would mean pain, and potentially blood, so he determined that the same rule of Christmas’ gifts applied, it was the gesture that really mattered.  
  
“Stay safe, Usopp”, Nami had asked of him, her voice an odd mixture of bleak and soft. “We’ll get Sanji- _kun_ back and sail straight for Wano. Take care of the others, _m’kay_?”   
  
The call had ended before he could even reply, as the _Polar Tang_ had been forced to descend deeper into the ocean and the signal was cut off abruptly, but the girl’s words still echoed in his head, and each time she entrusted him to look after their nakama, which, no matter what she said, was the greatest treasure she had ever landed her hands on, his heart sunk a little more in his chest.  
  
So far, the great Captain Usopp had only managed to ( _almost_ ) embarrass the archaeologist, who had showed up at lunch wearing Zoro’s t-shirt from the day before, and unsuccessfully tried to taunt the _Surgeon of Death_ for his unrequited crush for the last Oharan, which, in retrospective, probably wasn’t one of his greatest feats.  
  
If his mission was to ensure the safety of his crewmates, then he had been doing a pretty piss poor job at it.   
  
Things were going to change.  
  
Usopp stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist, staring long and hard at his reflection in the mirror. When Nami _and_ Sanji would come back, because _they would_ , the man waiting for them would be worthy of their friendship, love and respect, regardless of whether he had found the courage to tell the navigator how he felt.

* * *

Despite his good intentions, he hadn’t lasted long. Somewhere between the moment they booked four rooms in one of the town’s inns and when they left the place to take a look at the small, quaint village they were stopping at, he had lost sight of all his crewmates, and ended up strolling on his own through the streets of Annan.  
  
It had taken hours before Usopp found a very troubled swordsman straying at the end of the woods, and dragged him back to the hotel; if his mood had been odd lately, and that was further proved by what he had overheard this morning outside of Robin’s room – _like, seriously, he had_ no _idea_ , it was downright terrifying when the sniper retrieved him.  
  
He had been tensed and flustered and _unsure_ … in one word, he hadn’t look like himself as he kept caressing the tilt of his swords, pacing in a straight line and muttering curses under his breath.  
  
Usopp had known better than to ask him what happened, and once the two had gotten back to the inn, where Franky now joined them as well after letting the Heart Pirates borrow his expertise as they repaired the Tang, it hadn’t been hard to put two and two together.  
  
The archaeologist had been waiting for them in the lobby, and the dark-haired pirate could count on one hand the number of times she had had such a dark look on her face in the past, but he soldiered on, dragging them to what had been described to him as the best out of the two restaurants in town for dinner.  
  
Things had only gotten worse when Law and a small delegacy of Heart Pirates, including Bepo, had showed up before they could even be seated at their table, because the waitress just assumed they were all there as a single unit, and therefore pushed two tables against one another and seated them all together.   
  
Dinner had felt weird, the tension could be cut with a knife and, more than once, Usopp had caught the Straw-Hats’ swordsman staring at Law in a way that heavily implied he was thinking about cutting him, instead.  
  
The marksman had almost forgotten about their previous engagement as they were handed their bill, eager to put some distance between his hot-headed crewmate and Luffy’s treasured ally, but then Bepo had spoke up and reminded everyone of it, so innocently that no one could fault him for it, even though nobody except him now wanted to mingle.  
  
Even the joyous, ever-positive cyborg hadn’t seemed too down for it.  
  
So Usopp had found himself in a cheap, dirty tavern, the only place that was still open after nine p.m. and was now sipping, equally against his will, on an average beer.  
  
That would have been kind of nice, he supposed, if only he hadn’t picked his seat a bit too hastily, without taking a careful look around, and had sat right next to the brooding _Surgeon of Death_.  
  
Law was… _well_ , even someone with a colourful vocabulary like him struggled to find the appropriate words.  
  
 _Angry_? _Sad_? _Both_?  
  
He surely was drunk beyond repair, and even though the sniper had seen him with the occasional glass of wine in his hands before, he always kept airtight control over his body and mind, and never crossed the line, so it was a bit strange to see him blinking uncertainly at him, as if he wasn’t quite sure he had met Usopp before.  
  
“Nose- _ya_?”, he called, feebly.  
  
“When did you get here?”  
  
The Straw-Hat hid his smirk behind his shaker glass, eyes trained down on the bar-counter. As he noticed the multiple spots and stains of dubious origin dotted on it, however, he hastily removed his elbows from it, and looked up at Law.  
  
“About five minutes ago”.  
  
The Heart Pirates’ captain had headed straight for the bartender when the large group entered the tavern, but Usopp had had the first round with his crewmates, then fled the table right after Franky, whom he had then lost in the process, as soon as the electricity had started sparkling between the swordsman and archaeologist.  
  
The cyborg had no idea why there was such animosity in the air and, while Usopp didn’t either, it didn’t take much to connect all the dots once the surgeon’s miserable state was taken into account.   
  
“Is everything _okay_?”  
  
The marksman had feared the other’s reaction the moment the words left his mouth, fearless and outrageous, thinking there was something weird in Annan’s ale, because there was no way he was drunk after two beers, but it was equally as impossible that he had asked Trafalgar Law a personal question so brazenly whilst sober.  
  
Something didn’t quite add up.  
  
Law didn’t scoff, didn’t glare daggers at him, he didn’t even flinch.  
  
At first Usopp thought he hadn’t been heard, and refrained from repeating himself, but then a tattooed hand was raised to get the bartender’s attention, and the pirate ordered two shots of whisky.  
  
As soon as they were sat on the counter in front of him, he paid the bill and slid one to the right. Then, he let out a bitter laugh, “I’m afraid nothing was _ever_ okay”, he mused. “You know?”  
  
Truthfully, Yasopp’s son did _not_ know.  
  
With as many hardships as he had endured as a child first ( _his father’s abandonment, Banchina’s illness, how his life had so dramatically downgraded the moment he had become an orphan_ ) and a teenager later ( _the multiple injuries, the feeling of not belonging to such a strong crowd, his fight with Luffy, his time as Sogeking, the crew’s stint in Thriller Bark and the forced separation in Sabaody just to name a few_ ), he wasn’t sure he could ever compare his life to Law’s.  
  
That man was everything that was left of an entire city, Flevance, he had defeated death and healed from a disease for which a cure had never been found, or better, actively searched; he had lost everything even the second time he found a family and then had fended for himself in the unforgiving North Blue.  
  
If that wasn’t enough, the former Shichibukai had later dedicated his entire adult life to revenge, gathering up power and resources until he had been finally able to form an alliance with another young captain ( _and_ , coincidentally, the great Captain Usopp), and then he had almost died as he stood up against the man who had ruined his life.  
  
And now the woman who had saved his life, the one who was possibly the only person who truly understood just how misplaced he felt in the world, as her motherland had been wiped off the charts as well… that woman had just rejected him, she was involved with someone who, for more than a reason, was very similar to him.  
  
If he didn’t feel sorry for him, Usopp would have appreciated the irony.  
  
Sometimes, the dark, brooding, mighty character didn’t get what he wanted in the end, and the girl would pick the nice, comforting, normal friend instead – of course, such a train of thought was not prompted by the fact that he fancied himself for Nami as the Zoro to Robin’s Law, _no sir_.  
  
The swordsman and surgeon weren’t friends though, unlike he and Sanji, so perhaps it was best if he kept his thoughts to himself, no matter how amusing; it wouldn’t take too long for the spark of a fight to light up between those two.  
  
They were both fierce, and equally as prideful, both qualities that, in his humblest opinion, made them lesser men than the great Captain Usopp, but _that_ was to be expected, because he was the _best_.   
  
“All people at sea do”, was what he settled for, picking up his shot. “ _Love_ is rarely a part of the deal”.  
  
Law flinched at the word, as if “love” was a concept that truly repulsed him.  
  
He downed his shot in one gulp.  
  
“I don’t- _t_ believe in _l-l_ -love”, he sloshed, tapping an assertive finger on the wooden counter. “It might mean something to fools, or commoners, but I’m the _motherfucking_ captain of a pirate crew sailing the New World…”  
  
He surely sounded like he believed it, but Usopp couldn’t help but wonder whether this was perhaps his way to put the rejection into perspective, and get over it. He hoped so.  
  
The man beckoned the bartender with one finger to order another round.  
  
“Ever since _then_ ”, he hesitated, and did not elaborate further on his timeline when Usopp showed him a questioning look. He had a pretty good inkling as to where he was directed, and it was confirmed by what Law said next, but one could never be too sure.  
  
“I don’t know. I guess I’ve always just wondered whether there was _someone like me_ out there”.  
  
“And you found out there is…”, the sniper supplied, uncertainly.  
  
His eyes searched the room for a familiar head of green hair, so it took very little for him to find the recipient of their conversation. Robin was perched next to the swordsman on an ill-looking booth, a stronger drink than usual at hand.  
  
They seemed engrossed in a not-so-nice conversation, as if heavy words were being pronounced, and doubts coming to light, but it was impossible not to notice just how close they sat next to one another, even though neither of them was known for taking it well when people invaded their personal bubbles.  
  
It reminded Usopp of Nami, in a sense, and himself. They, too, showed one face to the general audience, the bossy navigator and easily rattled marksman, and kept another to themselves, but it wasn’t always easy to have such a clear separation between the two, so, over time, they had become confidants.  
  
Not unlike what was happening between the Straw-Hats’ swordsman and archaeologist, although he had never heard certain sounds coming out of Nami’s mouth, they had found someone they could be vulnerable with, expose their deepest insecurities, and feel a little less alone in the deep, endless ocean.  
  
“ _Yeah_ …”  
  
Law had seemed about to add something else, but his eyes then followed Usopp’s trail of sight, and landed on the pair.  
  
Zoro was now laughing at something the woman had said, and whilst Robin’s expression suggested she was scolding him, the smile curling up her lips was brighter than any source of light in the room, either lamp or candle.  
  
“She would never _not_ listen”, Usopp drawled.  
  
The way the so-called _Surgeon of Death_ was staring at his crewmate like a puppy looking for a home, it tugged at his heart. Perhaps he couldn’t understand what being the sole survivor of an entire community felt like, but he could sympathize with the kind of longing he spotted in those yellow eyes.  
  
“If you want to talk about…”, he paused, before settling on, “…Your shared trauma. _Just tell her_ ”.  
  
“ _Oh_ , but I tried”, Law remarked, bitterly, before downing his shot, topaz orbs still set on the display. “Zoro- _ya_ wasn’t very supportive, though”.  
  
“I wouldn’t have been _either_ ”, Usopp snorted. “Look… Sometimes, you can’t have it _all_. Even if you’re a pirate. Like the rest of us, Robin devoted her life to make our captain the Pirate King. If you think about it, there’s no way that wouldn’t cause a rift in your hypothetical relationship. And what would that even be like? A call on the _Den Den Mushi_ once a week? Maybe meeting up one, two times a year? That’s not a relationship. Robin deserves better and, frankly, so do you”.  
  
“Did you forget we’re allies?”  
  
“I did not, _sir_. But nothing lasts forever, and even though I don’t think you _mean_ it when you tell Luffy you’re not friends, the rest of us knew from day one that the alliance is temporary. It’s probably the reason Robin didn’t even consider you to begin with…”  
  
Law froze, and his eyes bore into the sniper’s. For a moment, the great Captain Usopp thought he had seen the tattooed hand twitch with the impulse of summoning a room and slice him into pieces for his audacity, and he almost fainted.  
  
 _Who would tell Luffy if the alliance broke because of his big, stupid mouth?_  
  
He guessed he just couldn’t stop himself from gloating. Look at him now, giving life advice to the _Surgeon of Death_.   
  
The doctor’s eyebrow arched ever so slightly. “Didn’t she?”  
  
Usopp opened his mouth, then closed it back again.  
  
Then, he drew a sharp breath.  
  
“I know nothing about that”, he muttered. “But it’s besides my point. _She chose someone else_ ”.  
  
His voice broke off over the last part, as the sentence drilled its way into both of their brains.  
  
“Talking from experience, Nose- _ya_?”  
  
“I guess you could say that”.  
  
Usopp’s eyes narrowed, then ordered another round of whisky, clicking his glass against Law’s before he gulped it down, wincing as the alcohol rushed down his throat.  
  
It was hot, and harsh, and mouth-coating. He didn’t like it, but he knew the older pirate would judge him if he ordered one of the drinks he really liked.  
  
(It was one of the things he loved about Nami. She always ordered the fruity cocktails for him so that the great Captain Usopp wouldn’t be mocked by his peers, and she didn’t even _charge_ him for it! _God bless her_.)  
  
“Even if she doesn’t love _m_ \- _you_ back… It doesn’t really matter. If you love _her_ , you’ll let her have whatever part of you she wants. It’s hard to get through to her at first, but she’ll be a trusted, fierce friend if you give it enough time”.  
  
(He had lost count of the times she had saved him from certain demise.  
  
Maybe they didn’t spend much time one on one because of their widely different interests, but he always appreciated the archaeologist’s company.  
  
She was a comforting presence, she had the sharpest wit in the whole crew, and even though her sense of humour still scared him from time to time, Usopp was slowly starting to appreciate it.)  
  
“I have friends. They are called _my crew_ …”  
  
“Haven’t you learned anything from our captain, _uh_?” Usopp patted a bold hand on his shoulder. “You don’t get to choose your friends”.

* * *

About an hour later Usopp stood up clumsily from his seat, then tried to help Law do the same, but the surgeon’s knees buckled under his weight and he slumped over the counter once more, hugging his now empty glass.  
  
The bartender had long since stopped serving him alcohol, not wanting such an ominous looking character to get too high spirited inside of his small, cheap tavern. The Straw-Hat could sympathize with that: even if they didn’t know their dark-haired costumer was a former Shichibukai, which he doubted, it didn’t take more than once glance in Trafalgar Law’s direction to determine he wasn’t just a pirate, but an extremely dangerous one at that.  
  
He had the word “DEATH” permanently inked on both hands, for _fuck_ ’s sake.  
  
“I guess I’ll just leave you here, then”, Usopp mumbled, uncertainly.  
  
His sight was blurred and he struggled to keep his balance, but it occurred to him, in a sudden jolt of pride, that he was fairing much better than the surgeon even though he had drunk almost as much, so he straightened up his spine and tried to ground himself a little better. His head spun and throbbed, but he found that it wasn’t nearly as unbearable if only he didn’t keep his eyes trained on the same spot too long.   
  
“I’ll send him off when he feels better”, a soft, feminine voice piped up.  
  
A girl about the sniper’s age was tidying up the space behind the counter, but she stopped, broomstick at hand, and trained her big, round eyes on him.  
  
Few people still lingered in the room, and the pace with which glasses were refilled had slowed down immensely over the past twenty minutes or so. It probably would have been another couple of hours before the place closed, but Usopp had no reason to stay, as his crewmates had all returned to the inn by now.  
  
“Don’t worry, I’m not trying to _rob_ your friend”, she chuckled. “But I’ve seen people in his state before, it’ll be a while before he can walk on his feet again”.  
  
The marksman eyed her with suspicion, not really for her words, but because she didn’t seem even the tiniest bit concerned about nursing an unknown, clearly perilous pirate back to health all by herself.  
  
“He’s a dangerous man, you know…”, he trailed off, but before he could complete the sentence, see if his name rung a bell in her head, she interrupted him with a dreamy look in her face.  
  
“ _Trafalgar Law_ ”, she said. “The man worth half a billion belies”.  
  
The last sentence surprised him.  
  
Annan was a small island with a single town and very little contact, it seemed, with the rest of the world. If it wasn’t too far-fetched that she would have heard about the infamous _Surgeon of Death_ over the years, the latest increase in his bounty was recent news, too recent, as a matter of fact, for a simple girl leading a simple life to know of it.  
  
Seemingly tracking his thoughts, she flipped her purple hair over one shoulder and resumed, smirking.  
  
“…And _God Usopp_ , the Straw-Hats’ marksman, two-hundred million belies”, she added. “I haven’t seen him all night, but is your captain here, too? I’ve always wanted to meet him”.  
  
She stood on her tippy-toes and craned her neck, excitedly, perusing the room in the same way she had been doing, per her own admission, for the entire evening. If normally the fact a stranger would so brazenly approach him and inquire about Luffy would have put him into instant alert, the admiration in her eyes had been genuine as she acknowledged his status, and so was her disappointment when she didn’t find a straw-hatted head inside the tavern.  
  
“Luffy’s not here”, he smiled, apologetically. “But how do you…”  
  
“I collect bounty posters”, she said.  
  
“I used to say I’d become a pirate when I was very little, so my father would bring back the posters from his travels… It was a bit harder to keep up when he disappeared, at first, but I became friends with the son of one of the fishermen over time, so they always make sure they pick up a copy for me whenever their business takes them away from Annan…”  
  
She made a pause, then, as if she wasn’t sure it was okay for her to continue.  
  
Usopp encouraged her by tilting his head to the side, a sympathetic smile tugging at the corners of his lips.  
  
He had first-hand experience of what it felt like to wait for the return of someone who would never show up.  
  
“My point is. It was nice to find out he didn’t just one day sail for Dressrosa and decided to leave us”, the girl added. “Thank you for setting him free…”   
  
It clicked then in his brain why the stranger seemed so enamoured with the Straw-Hat and Heart Pirates alliance.  
  
“He was one of the toys, wasn’t he?”  
  
“ _Was_ being the operative word. He was already ill when he disappeared eight years ago, so he didn’t make it for the trip back home, not _alive_ , anyway, but he had enough time to write both me and my mother a letter, and explained us what had happened to him. I’m glad there’s someone out there who fights for the weak and the defenceless”.  
  
“I am sorry for your loss…”, the sniper mumbled, sincerely. He had first-hand experience of grieving one’s late parent, too. He reached up with his right arm, offering her his hand. “Usopp”.  
  
She smiled, a single tear sliding down her cheek as she shook it eagerly. “Áine”.   
  
“I’ll leave this one to you, then”, he sighed, gesturing towards Law.  
  
The doctor had his left cheek pressed on the wooden counter, something that would probably make him scream the following morning as he remembered the notes he had made whilst still sober on the tavern’s hygiene, lips parted as quiet snores tumbled out of them.  
  
“He’s in good hands”, she promised, before returning to her previous activity, dusting the floor.  
  
He took enough coins out of his pocket to pay for his bill, but she didn’t let him.  
  
“Tonight’s on the house”.  
  
Usopp thanked her heartily, then turned around and started to make his way out.  
  
He had already taken several steps when he stopped, shouting over his shoulder, “Áine?”  
  
“ _Yes_?”  
  
“Nothing stops you from becoming a pirate _now_ , you know?”, he said.  
  
“You can fight for the weak and the defenceless, too, if that’s what you want”.  
  
With that, the great Captain Usopp resumed his stroll, happy he had once more spread his superior wisdom in the world, and exited the tavern before she could say anything in reply.  
  
“ _I’ll keep that in mind_ ”.

* * *

Fidgeting with the key of his rented room, the young man let out a satisfied sigh as it finally snapped inside the keyhole, giving him access to the space.  
  
He was tired and his head pulsed from all the whisky he had had with Law, but he was in a surprisingly good mood. He sat on the bed, then slipped out of his dark brown boots, wiggling his toes to adapt his feet to the sudden freedom. Next, he removed the goggles hanging from his neck, then the orange overalls, but not before he had taken the _Den Den Mushi_ out of the pocket and placed it on the bedside table with the utmost care.   
  
Usopp had kept the device on his body for the whole day, hoping to receive another call, but the sea-snail hadn’t moved, buzzed, or emitted a single vibration signalling someone was trying to establish a connection with it, and over the course of the day he had all but forgotten that Nami had promised to contact him again very soon.  
  
She hadn’t called and, whilst he had managed to keep the thought away for most of the evening, there was no way he could avoid it now, as it scratched at the back of his brain. He knew better than to worry too much about his distant crewmates, as they were more than equipped to look after themselves, but that didn’t mean the sniper didn’t want to know how things were proceeding, if they had met any kind of obstacles…  
  
Their captain was a wildcard, only an idiot wouldn’t have recognized it, and he couldn’t count on Sanji to keep the navigator safe for the time being.  
  
As much as he hated the thought of the blond’s arms closing around her, for either rescue or comfort, as that was _Usopp_ ’s job, he stood by the things he had told Trafalgar Law earlier: even if he cared for her with all of his heart, what mattered the most was that Nami was safe and, secondly, _happy_ ; if the chef could accomplish not only the first, but also the second goal, then he would receive the sniper’s blessing.   
  
As much as he would ache, nothing was more important than the orange-haired girl getting the very best life had to offer, _at last_ (the usual surge of anger cursed through his vein as his mind went back to Arlong, and the way he had used, mistreated and downright terrified her for years, but he pushed the thought away), even if what was best for her, what made her content and her whole face lit up in delight, was someone else.  
  
On his part, the great Captain Usopp believed he could be the artificer of that, if given the chance.  
  
He didn’t just _know_ her, her incredible talents and peculiar, yet somehow endearing flaws.  
  
(Okay, perhaps she was a little _bossy_ , and had a tendency to hit her crewmates when they disappointed her, but he had been a Straw-Hat from early on in the journey, the third member to join officially, so he was aware that she had been the only one to actually know how a pirate was supposed to act, with the occasional input from Zoro, back then.  
  
Before older, more experienced people had joined the crew, she had been the one who kept everyone in check, and therefore _alive_.)  
  
No, Usopp _understood_ her.  
  
He understood how her obsession for money steamed from a phase of her life where she had been left scraping for crumbles, and then further reinforced by the many years she had spent as the fishman’s navigator, working against her will and collecting treasure relentlessly just for the pirate to turn back on his word as soon as she had put together enough money to buy her village’s freedom.  
  
He understood that sometimes she appeared brash, and a _control-freak_ , but that was only because her crewmates were her family, and just the idea of something happening to them made her react very violently, as the young woman was all too familiar with having no agency over her life.  
  
Furthermore, the Nami who laid on the lawn-deck and stargazed with him on clear nights, was a Nami only _he_ had met.  
  
She was softer, more outspoken about her feelings, she wouldn’t hide the small snorting sound she sometimes made when she laughed, and she got closer to him physically outside of danger in ways she didn’t with anybody else, except perhaps Robin, but she was her best friend and roommate, not to mention the only other woman on the ship.  
  
That last point, Usopp usually gave much more consideration to; people often pegged him as naïve, and perhaps, to some extent, he was, but he had noticed from the very beginning how it took a long time for the navigator to grow comfortable around her crewmates and, even then, how she would avoid touching them unless it was absolutely necessary.  
  
His suspicion had only been confirmed when Vivi had boarded _Merry_ , and a completely different and decidedly more affectionate side of her had come to life, and then once more reiterated when Nico Robin had joined the crew. If he weren’t so drunk, he would make the umpteenth mental note to ask her about it someday.  
  
He wanted to believe nothing too bad had happened, or else he would have to track down what was left of Arlong’s crew and punish them accordingly, but he doubted she would have been as forgiving with Hachi, or strolled around Fishman Island as casually, if that happened to be the case.  
  
Shaking his head, the marksman slipped under the covers.  
  
He stretched his ears, trying to figure out whether he should put a preventive pillow over his head before he fell asleep, but Clione and his partner were quiet tonight, no sound was coming from the other side of the wall.  
  
Perhaps they hadn’t returned _yet_ , but a man could always hope.  
  
Just as he was about to switch off the single lamp in his room, turn on one side and succumb to sleep, a familiar buzzing piped up on his left.  
  
Falling off the bed from the surprise, he grasped it with shaky hands.  
  
 _Gacha_.  
  
He had bumped his head on the stone floor, as well as his elbow, but his other arm was outstretched, palm facing the ceiling and sea-snail sitting comfortably on top of it, its face morphing into an assertive frown he knew all too well.  
  
“ _God_ , _Usopp_ …”, Nami scoffed on the other end of the line.  
  
As the connection wasn’t the best inside the inn, although still better than on the _Tang_ , sounds were delayed, so he missed the very important pause between her imprecation and his name.  
  
“ _Yes_?”   
  
Her laugh was mocking him openly, but it was still the best thing he had experienced in the three days since they had separated from the others and left Zou aboard Law's submarine.  
  
He savoured it, using his memory to picture a mental image of the sound: he could practically see her cheeks as they puffed out, her slender shoulders as they shook, or the way she was more than likely twiddling an orange lock around her finger as they spoke.  
  
“…Do you really think _I_ would ever call you that?”  
  
“A man is allowed to dream…”, he mumbled in protest, albeit weakly.  
  
“I’ll let you know that I have, in fact, met someone who addressed me just as such tonight”.  
  
“Who were they? And how drunk?”  
  
“It was a _she_ ”, Usopp supplied, storing away Nami’s sharp breath as a win. “And she wasn’t drunk... Even had my bounty memorized”. And _Law_ ’s, and probably _anybody else_ ’s, but he didn’t say that.  
  
“Are you sure she wasn’t trying to _rob_ you?”, she asked. “I’ve conned more than one man by pretending to be impressed by their bounties…”  
  
At first, he was somewhat hurt by her remark. It bruised his ego that the girl he was so desperately in love with considered a robbery as the only scenario in which a woman could willingly approach him, but then he looked past it, and saw that this could be another one of those instances where she projected her past experiences on other people.  
  
As someone who had been forced to lie and steal for a decade, and survived only by depriving herself of any genuine connection to another person, even her sister, she always assumed other people were out to get her and, by extension, the Straw-Hats, too.  
  
Although she had worded it poorly, she was worried about him.  
  
“I’d say she was just being _friendly_ ”, he retorted. “I didn’t even have to pay for my drinks…”  
  
So, maybe the girl at the bar hadn’t exactly tried to _hit_ on him, far from that, but Nami didn’t need to know that.  
  
Technically, the great Captain Usopp was telling the truth: she had been friendly, and she had covered his bill.  
  
“ _Uh-uh_. I see”, the navigator’s voice was cold as ice. “It seems you’ve had quite the exciting night with this girl, Usopp. Maybe I should let you sleep now, then. I’m sure you’ll want to see her again before you get back on your route”.  
  
“Wait, Nami…”, he called out.  
  
She didn’t say anything in reply, but the line didn’t fall, so Usopp assumed it was safe for him to continue.  
  
He knew he wouldn’t be so cheeky if it wasn’t for the whisky, but he didn’t care.  
  
He had thought of the question, so he might as well have asked it.  
  
“…Are you _jealous_?”  
  
A minute flew by, slowly, as he heard her pacing somewhere on the _Sunny_.  
  
(The girl’s cabin, perhaps?)  
  
Then, after she had let out a loud sigh, Nami had replied, before ending the call, in a tone so suggestive it sent a shiver down his spine.  
  
“ _And what if I am_?”  
  
 _Gacha_.  
  
He was lucky he had been still sitting on the floor when she last spoke, or else he would fallen from the bed once more. Even more so than earlier, the great Captain Usopp couldn’t wait for the moment he’d see his beloved again.  
  
Maybe _then_ , when he met his sunshine again, he would have been brave enough to not be blinded by it and confess.

* * *

_"I swear she's destined for the screen,_   
_Closest thing to Michelle Pfeiffer that you've ever seen, oh_   
  
_Lady, running down to the riptide_   
_Taken away to the dark side_   
_I want to be your left hand man"_

[ **Vance Joy** , _[**Riptide**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ_1HMAGb4k)_ ]


End file.
